Sitting Pretty(ier)

After 12 years – yes, TWELVE YEARS – I’m finally saying good-bye. I’m disgusted with my situation, and it’s time to move on. With a little help from a friend, I’m making some long-needed changes — for the better.

In 2002, I moved to the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. I got an awesome third-floor apartment with a horrible kitchen, radiator heat, no air conditioning and – of course – no elevator. Everything a twentysomething guy could want.

The move should have been back-breaking, but I played it smart. I unloaded all my furniture (before Craigslist was a thing) and essentially started over. I went to a now-defunct store called 5-Day Furniture and bought everything – couch, tables and an overstuffed chair and ottoman, and had it all delivered. Every piece was a neutral, taupe-ish color because who knew…maybe one day I’d buy a house and I didn’t want to regret my furniture investment.

Out with the old…my once-beloved chair awaits its final fate.

Well that day came – TWICE. I made the terrible decision of buying a townhome in Eden Prairie in 2003 and the furniture came with me. It was a dull home made ever-duller with my lifeless, now-structurally-questionable seating.

Fast-forward to 2007 when I realized I wasn’t dead and that I didn’t have to live like a retiree in the suburbs (no offense!). I bought a nice little house in South Minneapolis, a short jaunt from Lake Nokomis, and I brought that damn furniture with me. I eventually added some lovely (read: not lovely) gems to round it out, like a TV console, coffee and side tables. I painted the living room a god-forsaken khaki color, and my world was awash in blandness. I got a dog, whom I love enormously, but who also routinely drooled and vomited on every square inch of the upholstery.

Well, this is it. I can’t handle it any more.

I’ve sold or thrown away most of my furniture (again), and I enlisted the help of a trusted friend to give me a hand – and accompany me to Room & Board. That place is amazing, but more so, their customer service is unmatched. They worked up floor plans and showed me every single option I could consider. They showed me different fabrics and colors and helped me make decisions I have no business making on my own. I painted over the khaki walls and now, several weeks and a lot of money later, I am no longer going to live like a college kid who hit up every bad garage sale he could find. These are exciting times and I thought I’d share pics of my new finds.